QUOTE (jul10 @ Aug 01 2006, 03:57 AM)Which one is true "senpai" or "sempai"?
Err.. I'm sorry to ressurrect this old question even tho' it was aswered in a proper manner... I just have something to add...
Word senpai is written with hiragana "n" but it is pronaunced as "m"
That kind a thing is almost a rule (maybe it is a rule). When hiragana "n" is followed by "pa, pi,pu,pe,po, ha,hi,hu,he,ho, ba,bi,bu,be or bo" (that sounded stupid ^^)
Some excamples:
-ganbaree~ (hang in there, or something like that)
-inbou (conspiracy)
-zenbu (whole)
-hanbun (half)
Can't think of any more excamples.. nor I can think of any exceptions for this that don't follow this principle... If you can confirm my theory or prove it wrong please do so ^^
And not to go too off-topic I think -Dono is someone with high socialstatus but does not have to be important for the speaker. And -Sama is important to the speaker.